Beverly Hills Hit-and-Run Accident Lawyer

How Our Beverly Hills Hit-and-Run Accident Lawyers Can Help

Most hit-and-run cases move through the same practical steps. We review the facts of the crash, request the police report, and preserve photos, video, and witness information before it is lost. When the driver is unknown, we build the claim through your own uninsured motorist coverage; when the driver is identified, we pursue their liability insurance. From there we coordinate your medical documentation, handle communication with the insurance companies, and calculate the full value of your damages.

When the insurance company makes a fair offer, we negotiate the settlement. When it does not, we are prepared to file a lawsuit and take the case further. Throughout, you focus on recovery while we handle the paperwork, the deadlines, and the adjusters.

You do not need to understand the full legal process before calling. A lawyer can review what happened, explain your options, and help you avoid mistakes that could weaken your claim.

A hit-and-run lawyer can help protect your claim while you focus on medical care and recovery.

Common Hit-and-Run Scenarios in Beverly Hills

Hit-and-run crashes in and around Beverly Hills happen across busy commercial corridors, valet-heavy hotel and restaurant frontages, parking structures, and quiet residential streets at night. Under California law, leaving the scene is a crime, and the scenario often shapes what evidence will matter and how serious the charges against the driver may be.

Misdemeanor Hit-and-Run (Vehicle Code 20002)

Leaving the scene of a property-damage-only crash, such as clipping a parked car or a fence, is a misdemeanor under California Vehicle Code 20002 — punishable by up to six months in county jail and fines up to $1,000.

Felony Hit-and-Run (Vehicle Code 20001)

Fleeing after a crash that injured or killed someone is charged under California Vehicle Code 20001. It is a wobbler; a felony conviction can carry up to four years in state prison and much higher fines.

Parked-Car and Property Hit-and-Runs

A driver who strikes a parked car, gate, or fence and leaves without providing contact information has committed a hit-and-run, even when no one is injured.

Pedestrian Hit-and-Runs

Pedestrians struck in crosswalks and valet zones are especially vulnerable when a driver flees, and these cases often involve serious injuries.

Bicycle and Scooter Hit-and-Runs

Cyclists and scooter riders clipped by a passing car and left behind can pursue both uninsured motorist coverage and any identified driver’s liability policy.

DUI-Related Flee

Drivers who have been drinking or using drugs often flee to avoid arrest. Impairment combined with fleeing can support a claim for additional damages.

Commercial-Corridor Collisions

Busy shopping and restaurant streets with heavy left-turn volume produce frequent hit-and-runs — but also multiple sources of security-camera footage.

Parking-Structure Incidents

Multi-level garages have fixed-position cameras and gate logs that can help identify a driver who backs into a vehicle and leaves.

Nighttime Residential Hits

On quieter residential blocks at night, a driver may strike a parked car and leave before anyone notices; doorbell cameras and neighbors often become key witnesses.

Unidentified-Driver Crashes

When the driver is never found, a hit-and-run claim proceeds through your own uninsured motorist coverage rather than a third-party claim.

Not sure whether the driver will be identified or how to deal with your own insurer? A free consultation can help you understand your options before you give a statement or accept an offer.

Common Serious Injuries After a Hit-and-Run

Hit-and-run collisions often produce more serious injuries than ordinary fender benders, because the fleeing driver was frequently speeding, impaired, or distracted. Even a crash that seems minor can lead to pain, medical bills, time away from work, and long-term treatment needs.

• Whiplash
• Headaches
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Neck and back injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Broken bones
• Soft tissue injuries
• Lacerations
• Shoulder and knee injuries
• Internal injuries
• Emotional distress
• Wrongful death

Photos, witness information, medical records, and police reports can become important evidence after a hit-and-run.

What to Do After a Hit-and-Run in Beverly Hills

The steps you take after a hit-and-run can affect your health, your insurance claim, and your ability to recover compensation.

What Evidence Can Help Prove a Hit-and-Run Claim?

A strong hit-and-run claim is built on records and details that show what happened, who was responsible, and how badly you were hurt. Identifying the driver who fled can turn an uninsured motorist claim into a full third-party recovery. Helpful evidence may include:

• Police report
• Photos and videos
• Dashcam footage
• Traffic and intersection camera footage
• Business and doorbell security footage
• Witness statements
• Paint transfer and vehicle damage analysis
• Medical records
• Ambulance or ER records
• Insurance correspondence
• Pay records showing lost income
• Accident reconstruction evidence in serious cases

What Compensation Can You Recover After a Hit-and-Run?

The value of a hit-and-run claim depends on the severity of your injuries, the treatment you need, the income you lost, your property damage, the available insurance coverage, and the way the crash affects your life. Two cases that look similar can be worth very different amounts.

Compensation may include:

• Medical bills
• Future medical care
• Physical therapy and rehabilitation
• Lost wages
• Loss of earning capacity
• Property damage
• Rental car or loss-of-use damages
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of consortium
• Wrongful death damages where applicable

Compensation may include medical expenses, lost income, property damage, and pain and suffering. In cases involving especially reckless conduct, punitive damages may be available under California Civil Code 3294.

Should You Talk to the Insurance Company?

Insurance adjusters may seem helpful, but their job is to protect the insurance company’s financial interests. After a hit-and-run, you often have to file against your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage under California Insurance Code 11580.2 — which means your own insurer becomes the adversary. A recorded statement, casual comment, or quick settlement can affect your claim.

Before speaking in detail with any insurer — including your own — consider talking with a lawyer so you understand your rights and how your UM coverage applies.

Adjusters often call early, before you know how serious your injuries are. A short conversation with a lawyer first can keep an offhand comment from hurting your claim.

What If You Were Partly at Fault?

California follows pure comparative fault. You can recover compensation even if you were partly responsible for the collision — your recovery is simply reduced by your percentage of fault. A driver who is 30 percent at fault can still recover 70 percent of their damages. Comparative fault rarely defeats a hit-and-run case, because fleeing the scene weighs heavily against the other driver.

This makes evidence important. The insurance company may still try to blame you to reduce what it has to pay. Documentation, witness statements, and a clear timeline help push back against that.

How Long Do You Have to File a Hit-and-Run Claim in California?

In California, you generally have two years from the date of a hit-and-run to file a personal injury lawsuit under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1. Uninsured motorist claims also carry their own contractual deadlines — many policies require prompt notice of a hit-and-run, sometimes within 30 days, and a formal arbitration demand within a defined period.

Because deadlines can change depending on the facts and your policy, speak with a lawyer as soon as possible after a hit-and-run.

How Much Does a Beverly Hills Hit-and-Run Accident Lawyer Cost?

Etehad Law offers free consultations and handles hit-and-run cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning there are no attorney fees unless the firm recovers compensation for you.

Settlements vs. Trial in Hit-and-Run Cases

General information only; the right path depends on the facts of your case.

Representative Auto Accident Results

The following are examples of results Etehad Law has obtained in auto accident cases, including collisions involving fleeing and uninsured drivers. Each case is different, and these amounts depend on the specific facts, injuries, and insurance coverage involved.

Jury verdict in an auto v. auto crash where the client was held at 30% at-fault.

An auto v. auto case where a client’s deposition was never taken. Initial offer of $84,000.

Client was struck by a delivery driver in this auto v. auto case.

Minor impact crash with a driver within the course and scope of work.

An auto v. truck case where a police report claimed the client was at fault for an unsafe lane change.

A disputed liability against a rideshare driver that ended as a confidential settlement against a rideshare company.

Meet Your Beverly Hills Hit-and-Run Legal Team

Simon P. Etehad

Founder & Lead Attorney, Etehad Law

Simon P. Etehad founded Etehad Law and has spent more than 25 years helping injured people in Beverly Hills and across Los Angeles, including victims of hit-and-run crashes. The firm has closed over 2,000 cases and works to document each client’s injuries, deal with the insurance companies, and pursue the compensation available under California law.

Associate attorney Erik Harper also represents injured clients at the firm.

• Experience: 25+ years · 2,000+ cases closed
• Recognition: Super Lawyers · FIDF Western Region President
• Verified profile: Avvo

When you work with Etehad Law, you get a team that returns calls, keeps you updated, coordinates your medical care, and handles the insurance companies so you can focus on recovery.

Call for a Free Consultation With a Beverly Hills Hit-and-Run Accident Lawyer

A serious hit-and-run can affect your health, income, transportation, and future. Etehad Law can review what happened, explain your legal options, and help you pursue compensation while you focus on recovery — even if the driver is never found.

Call (310) 550-1220 or fill out the form to request a free consultation.

Free consultation. No attorney-client relationship is created unless the firm reviews and accepts your case in writing.

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• Personal Injury
• Truck Accidents
• Motorcycle Accidents
• Bicycle Accidents
• Pedestrian Accidents
• Uber/Lyft & Taxi Accidents
• Hit and Run Accidents
• Rear-End Accidents
• Head-On Collisions
• Wrongful Death

Frequently Asked Questions About Hit-and-Run Accidents in Beverly Hills

You can still recover, usually through your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage if your policy includes it. UM coverage is built for exactly this situation. A claim against your own insurer still needs evidence — the police report, medical records, and proof of damages — but it does not require identifying the other driver.

Yes. A passenger injured in a hit-and-run in Beverly Hills can file through several layers of coverage: the host driver’s policy, the at-fault driver’s liability coverage if that driver is identified, and the host driver’s UM coverage when the other vehicle flees. A passenger often has more available coverage than a driver does.

In most California policies, yes — provided you reported the hit-and-run promptly and have documented evidence of contact. UM rules can be technical (physical-contact requirements, notice deadlines, and arbitration clauses vary), so it is worth having a lawyer review your policy before you talk to the adjuster.

Yes, in two practical ways. First, the criminal side is more serious — leaving the scene turns a normal collision into a misdemeanor or felony. Second, the insurance path is different: instead of going through the at-fault driver’s liability policy, the victim often relies on their own UM coverage and the rules attached to it.

In most cases, yes. The Beverly Hills Police Department investigates reported hit-and-run incidents, especially those involving injuries, and may coordinate with the California Highway Patrol when a freeway is involved. A police investigation often produces surveillance pulls, witness interviews, and vehicle identifications that become important to the civil claim.

It depends on whether anyone was injured. A property-damage-only hit-and-run under Vehicle Code 20002 is a misdemeanor, carrying up to six months in jail and fines up to $1,000. A hit-and-run involving injury or death under Vehicle Code 20001 is a wobbler chargeable as a misdemeanor or felony, with felony convictions carrying up to four years in state prison and much higher fines.

Sooner is usually better. Evidence such as surveillance footage, witness memories, and even paint on the road disappears fast, and most policies impose tight notice requirements after a hit-and-run. A free consultation early lets you understand your options before any deadlines hit.

Attorney advertising. This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

Submitting a form or contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. An attorney-client relationship is formed only after the firm reviews and accepts your case in writing.

Laws and deadlines vary depending on the facts of your case, and the information here may not reflect the law that applies to your situation. Speak with a licensed attorney about your specific case.

Need Help After a Hit-and-Run?

Talk to a Beverly Hills hit-and-run lawyer before giving a recorded statement, accepting an insurance offer, or missing an important deadline.

Confidential consultation. No fee unless we win.

Credentials & Legal Profiles

Before choosing a hit-and-run lawyer, many clients want to review credentials, ratings, and professional profiles. Use the links below to learn more about Etehad Law and Simon P. Etehad.

Disclaimer

This information is for general purposes only and is not legal advice. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Attorney advertising. Laws vary by state.